Ärî Devânanda Paòàita

Ärî Devananda Pandit used to live at Kulia. He was a famous reciter of the Ärîmad-Bhâgavatam and many people used to study the Bhâgavatam under his guidance.

One afternoon, Ärîvasa Paòàita came to hear Devânanda Pandit's recitation of the Bhâgavatam. Hundreds of students were seated around the Pandit and some were following his reading in their own personal copies of the manuscript.

Ärîvasa Paòàita was a very advanced devotee and thus, when the sweet nectar of the Bhâgavatam entered his ears, his heart became softened in love of God. He started to cry and roll on the groung, his body having become agitated by the waves of ecstatic love.

When the students of Devânanda saw this, they thought, "This fellow must be crazy. He is disturbing our hearing of the recitation. Get him out of here." Thus they picked him up and carried him outside. Though Devânanda saw all this taking place, he didn't prevent those foolish students of his from commiting this offense. As the guru was ignorant, so his students were sinful.

Ärîvasa said nothing, but simply went to his house feeling very sad. All of this accured before the appearance of Ärî Gaurasundara.

During Mahâprabhu's exhibition of His divine positon as the Supreme Personality of Godhead for twenty-one hours, He asked Ärîvasa if he remembered this incident.

One day, when Mahâprabhu was taking a stroll around Nadiyanagara, he came to Mahesvara Visarada Pandit's house. At that time Devananda resided there. Mahâprabhu heard him reciting the Ärîmad-Bhâgavatam from outside and became very angry.

"What purport will that rascal explain? Not in any of his births has he understood the meaning of even one verse of the Ärîmad-Bhâgavatam. The Bhâgavatam is the avatara of Ärî Kèëòa in book form. Devotion is the only subject it teaches. The four Vedas are like yoghurt and the Bhâgavatam is like butter. Ärîla Sukadeva Gosvâmî did the churning and Maharaja Pariksit ate that butter. Sukadeva Gosvâmî is very dear to Me. He knows very well that the Ärîmad-Bhâgavatam is meant to describe the truth about Me according to My own likings. Whoever sees any difference between Me, My own devotees and the Ärîmad-Bhâgavatam simply brings destruction upon himself." (C.B. Mad 21.13)

Mahâprabhu made these statements in a voice loud enough for Devananda to hear. Then He turned to go back to His home. The devotees following Him begged for more mercy. He continued, "All the scriptures state that the Ärîmad-Bhâgavatam enunciates the highest realization. Without having understood any of this, simply for the sake of name and fame as a religionist and a scholar, he poses himself as a teacher of this great book. But he doesn't know the purport.

"Only one who has understood that the Ärîmad-Bhâgavatam is verily the inconceivable intelligence of the Supreme Lord Himself knows that the only meaning of the Bhagavatam is devotion. In order to understand the book Bhâgavata, one has to serve the devotee-Bhâgavata."

Devânanda could hear all of these remarks from the distance, yet he thought nothing of it.

After some time Gaurasundara accepted sannyasa and went to live at Nilacala. It was then that Devânanda at last began to feel some remorse. "Such a great soul, totally imbued with love of God, but I never went even once to have his association."

One day Ärîla Vakresvara Paòàita came to Kuliya to visit the house of one devotee there. In the evening he held a festival of dancing and chanting the Holy Name. Devânanda was present on this occasion, and was completely stunned by Ärî Vakresvara's effulgence and ecstatic chanting and dancing. As the night progressed more and more, people came to listen to his kirtan until there was finally a huge crowd. Devânanda took a cane and began to control the crowd so that Vakresvara's dancing wouldn't be disturbed.

When Vakresvara fainted in ecstatic love, Devânanda carefully put his head on his lap and brushed the dust from his body with his own upper cloth. Then he smeared that dust on his own body. That day his service to the devotees had its auspicious beginning.

After some days, Mahâprabhu returned to Bengal to see his mother and the holy Ganges. He also came to Kuliya. At that time thousands upon thousands of people came to have darsana of His lotus feet. All of those who had previously committed offenses against Nimai Paòàita by thinking Him to be an ordinary human being now came to seek His forgiveness; Mahâprabhu forgave each and everyone of them. Among those present was Devânanda, who fell down on the ground to offer his obeisances to Mahâprabhu. From that moment he became one of the Lord's foremost devotees.

Still, he felt a little hesitant, and thus upon getting up, he stood to one side. Mahâprabhu addressed him, "Because you have served My dear devotee Vakresvara, I am now pleased with you. By that service you have now been able to approach Me. Within Vakresvara's person is Ärî Kèëòa's complete potency. Whoever serves him must receive Kèëòa's mercy."

Devânanda, in a faltering voice replied, "You are the Supreme controller. Simply for the sake of reclaiming fallen souls You have advented Yourself here at Nadiya. I am a sinful wretch and have never served Your lotus feet and thus was cheated of Your causeless mercy for so many years. Oh my Lord, Who resides with in the heart of all living entities, You are Supremely merciful. Only because You have shown Yourself to me have I been able to see You. O most compassionate One, please instruct me. Let me know the actual purport of the Ärîmad-Bhâgavatam."

Mahâprabhu replied, "Now hear Me, O brahmana, and know that the only way to explain the verses of the Bhâgavatam is in terms of bhakti. In the beginning, middle and end of the Ärîmad-Bhâgavatam there is only one teaching: devotion to Viëòu, which is eternally perfect and which is never destroyed or diminished."

"As Kèëòa's various incarnations such as Matsya and Kurma appear and disappear in this world by Their sweet will, in the same way, the Ärîmad-Bhâgavatam is not made or composed by any person. It makes its appearance and disappearance by its own sweet will. Due to the appearance of devotion, the Bhâgavatam blossomed forth from Vyasadeva's mouth, by the mercy of Ärî Kèëòa.

"As the truths regarding the Supreme Authority are inconceivable, so are the truths of Ärîmad-Bhâgavatam. Many may pretend to know its meaning but they have no real grasp of the evidence the Bhâgavatam presents. But whoever who simply remembers the Ärîmad-Bhâgavatam while admitting himself to be ignorant can understand the real meaning.

"The Bhâgavata, which is saturated with loving devotion for Kèëòa, is an expansion of Kèëòa Himself and contains descriptions of His most confidential pastimes." (C.B. Ant. 3.505-516)

"Now you should beg forgiveness by catching hold of Ärîvasa Pandit's feet. The book Bhâgavata and the devotee Bhâgavata are not different. If the devotee Bhâgavata is merciful to us, then the book Bhâgavata manifests its true meaning."

Then Devânanda fell at Ärîvasa Paòàita's feet and begged forgiveness. Ärîvasa embraced him and his offense retreated far away. All the devotees shouted in ecstasy, "Hari bol! Hari bol!"

His disappearance is on the 11th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Pausa.